Evaluation of Women's Reproductive Health Status after Kermanshah Earthquake

Objective: Women are more at risk of dying during disasters than men due to physical, biological, psychological, and cultural differences.  In the aftermath of a disaster, women experience more than usual miscarriages, premature births, inadequate fetal growth, low birth weight, sexual violence, and unwanted pregnancies.  This study aimed to evaluate the reproductive health status of women affected by the Kermanshah earthquake. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was performed in the fall of 2018.  The study population was girls and women aged 15-49 years who lived in one of the areas of Sarpol-e Zahab, Javanrood, and Thalas Babajani during the Kermanshah earthquake.  The questionnaire used was the standard questionnaire for assessing the status of reproductive health in disasters, which has already been localized in Iran and its reliability and validity have been confirmed.  Native Kurdish language questionnaires have been completed the questionnaires by asking 396 people.  Central and dispersion indices were used to describe the frequency of variables. Results: The mean age of participants was 31.7 years.  42.4% complained of unprecedented menstrual irregularities and 34.09% of limited menstrual hygiene items.  Sixty married women were pregnant at the time of the earthquake, all of whom gave birth in hospital and had two miscarriages, two premature births, and one stillbirth.  Urinary tract infection was the most common problem (21%) in pregnancy.  48% of married women used the contraceptive method after the earthquake, the most commonly used method being the pill (23%).  Access to post-earthquake contraception was difficult for 14.4% of them.  Regarding the experience of sexual violence after the earthquake, 25% answered positively that 30 people reported physical violence, 86 people verbally and 13 people forced to have sex without desire. Conclusion: Although despite the extensive primary care system, control of pregnancy and safe delivery in disaster-affected areas is relatively acceptable, services in the field of reproductive health and sexual health after disasters seem to face challenges.  It is recommended to pay attention to menstrual hygiene, regular distribution of contraceptives as soon as possible after disasters (despite the current population policy of the country), address sexual violence, and develop a protocol to follow up its victims.